Why pick an SEO Agency over a Marketing Agency

The question of whether to choose a specialist agency or a more general service is as old as marketing itself. There are arguments for and against using either, pros and cons associated with both. However, a business needs to consider what outcome it’s looking for.

A Stronger Focus

As you’d expect, a specialist SEO agency has a tighter focus and therefore will have a more in-depth, up to date knowledge of SEO. Everyone working in an SEO agency (if you ignore the necessary accountants and admin staff) spends their day doing SEO, and nothing but SEO. It would be safe to assume they are good at it.

A marketing agency will have a completely different set up. Depending upon their size, they may have some staff who are SEO specialists, they may outsource SEO, or it may be done by general marketing staff. It’s also likely your contact in the marketing agency will only have general SEO knowledge.

So if you want to deal with an SEO specialist, an SEO agency may be the way to go.

Tunnel Vision

On the other hand, SEO is just one part of digital marketing and hiring a specialist agency may result in ‘tunnel vision’. Your SEO agency may make recommendations that are great for SEO but neglect user engagement through great content marketing.

Ultimately it is about what you need. Are you and/or your team confident about either SEO or marketing? Where are the gaps in your skillset?

What’s best for your Business?

Give yourself and your team a quick appraisal, do you need an all-rounder who can help you with SEO and content? In which case you need a Marketing Agency. Or do you have great content which is punching below its weight? In which case you need as SEO Agency.

The type of agency you choose should complement the skills of your in-house team and depend on your aims. There is no right or wrong answer, only what is best for your business.